After lunch, the five students, each with their own thoughts, met in front of the floating arena.
The atmosphere was somewhat awkward, the rift between Gryffindor and Slytherin like a tangible wall between them.
But two years of training had made them far more mature, allowing them to temporarily set aside their house differences and focus on practical goals.
"How do we cooperate? Who will lead?" Harry asked.
"Obviously, Granger will handle the decryption. She knows the most about those ancient runes."
Malfoy unexpectedly acknowledged Hermione's strengths. "Potter and I will be the main attackers in combat. Goyle will handle the front line, responsible for defense and protecting the rear. Don't worry, his Shield Charm and Obstacle Curse are solid. As for Weasley, he'll flank, providing support and filling any gaps. As for command, it will depend on the situation. Whoever finds an opening calls it out immediately, and the others execute at once."
His plan was quite reasonable, taking everyone's strengths into account, but…
"I'll take the main attack role and handle defense as well."
Hermione suddenly spoke, offering a different opinion, which clearly surprised Malfoy.
"Shouldn't we play to our strengths, Granger?" he asked.
"It's right to rely on our strengths, but we also need to address our weaknesses through real combat."
Hermione shook her head. "Besides, who said I'm only good at decryption? Don't judge people based on past impressions."
Malfoy shrugged, seeming as though he wanted to argue, but in the end he simply spread his hands. "…Fine. I hope you know what you're doing."
As they reached an agreement and finalized their roles, the surrounding environment began to shift dramatically.
Ancient stone walls rose from the ground, and dry, scorching air rushed toward them. A grand yet weathered Egyptian temple appeared before their eyes.
Together, they cast the Unlocking Charm, and the heavy door groaned as it slowly opened.
Behind it lay a vast hall, blanketed in thick dust.
Light streamed in through cracks high above, forming shafts of illumination where dust drifted and swirled.
On either side of the hall stood two Anubis statues with closed eyes, dog-headed and human-bodied, their imposing forms like slumbering guardians.
The moment they stepped into the center of the hall, the statues' eyes suddenly flared red, and their heavy stone heads slowly lowered, locking onto the intruders.
With the grating sound of stone grinding against stone, their massive fists slammed down!
Although it was their first time encountering this type of guardian, the attack pattern was not unfamiliar.
After all, this was just another "reskinned monster" designed by Sagres. The core mechanics were largely the same, with only the location and form of the magic core differing.
The five of them easily dodged the attacks, moving swiftly and in perfect coordination.
"Confringo!"
Harry shouted, raising his wand and firing a Blasting Curse at the knee joint of one of the statues.
At the same time, a precise freezing spell shot from Hermione's wand, striking the other statue and noticeably slowing its movements.
Hermione remained where she was, her wand swiftly pointing at the ground beneath the statue's feet.
"Syrticus!"
The solid stone floor instantly turned into a swirling vortex of quicksand, and the statue's heavy lower body sank into it at once. Its forward momentum was forcibly halted, leaving it struggling futilely.
She had only recently acquired this spell from the exchange catalogue, and her control over it was still somewhat unrefined, but it proved surprisingly effective against such a massive opponent.
After restraining the statue, Hermione did not pause. With a sharp flick of her wrist, a burst of white light shot from her wand.
"Reducto!"
The blazing spell struck a seemingly decorative gem on the statue's chest with precision.
Boom!
A deafening explosion rang out.
The statue froze mid-motion. A large hole was blasted through its chest, and the red glow in its eyes vanished completely, reducing it to a heap of rubble.
Hermione dealt with the statue swiftly and cleanly.
On the other side, Ron and Goyle were working together against the statue that Malfoy had slowed down.
Ron continuously waved his wand.
"Impedimenta!"
Invisible barriers formed repeatedly in the statue's path, cleverly restricting its movement.
Meanwhile, Goyle maintained a solid Shield Charm, drawing the statue in circles around the hall.
Harry and Malfoy each cast several spells, but the statue moved too quickly. Only fragments of stone were chipped away, and they failed to destroy the gem embedded in its chest.
Seeing this, Hermione raised her wand again, aiming at the ground ahead of the statue.
"Collapse and Sink!"
The ground gave way instantly, forming a deep pit.
Caught off guard while chasing Goyle, the statue stumbled, lost its balance, and crashed heavily to the ground.
Two spells followed immediately, shattering its magic core in an instant.
The first stage was cleared.
Passing through the dust-filled hall of statues, they entered a narrow, dim passage.
The walls were riddled with dense, eerie holes.
"Watch out for traps!"
Ron raised his wand warily, expecting arrows to shoot out.
However, what poured from the holes were not crossbow bolts, but countless dark, gleaming beetles.
They surged out like a black tide, accompanied by a chilling rustling as they scurried, instantly covering the ground and walls ahead.
"Merlin's smelly socks! How are we supposed to get through this?" Ron swallowed, instinctively taking a step back.
"Use fire! But a normal Incendio doesn't have enough range, we can combine—"
Harry quickly assessed the situation, searching for the right angle to cast.
"I'll do it!"
Hermione stepped forward, her gaze steady.
Without hesitation, she swung her wand toward the densest cluster of insects.
"Tempesta!"
A powerful whirlwind appeared out of nowhere, sweeping up the scarabs at the front and forming a constantly spinning mass of black insects within the vortex.
Immediately after, her wand tip shifted swiftly, pointing straight into the center of the whirlwind.
"Incendio!"
Flames surged into the vortex at once.
The wind fed the fire, and the fire grew stronger with the wind.
In an instant, a massive, terrifying fire tornado took shape, roaring as it tore forward.
A wave of scorching heat rushed toward them. Wherever the fire tornado passed, the scarabs were instantly consumed and reduced to charred remains, leaving only a dense crackling echo through the passage.
In less than ten seconds, the once daunting, insect-infested corridor had been completely cleared by this violent composite magic, leaving behind nothing but ash and the lingering smell of burning.
The four behind her watched in stunned silence.
Even Malfoy, usually so critical, stood with his mouth slightly open, a trace of undisguised astonishment flashing across his face before he muttered softly, "Truly… creative."
The second stage was cleared.
The next stage felt somewhat familiar, reminiscent of Hogwarts during last year's Chamber of Secrets incident.
They entered a vast hall filled with countless giant mirrors.
The mirrors were set at different angles, reflecting dizzying, eerie light that occasionally condensed into searing beams, firing at them without warning.
Even more troublesome, the mirrors also produced distorted magical phantoms that shrieked as they lunged out from the glass to attack them.
"It's light-based magic and magical phantoms. Use the Vanishing Charm!"
Hermione quickly issued instructions while casting a Disillusionment Charm on herself. Her figure immediately blurred, interfering with the beams' targeting and the phantoms' tracking.
The others dodged the incoming beams and lunges while observing carefully.
They soon discovered that all the phantoms and beams originated from a ghost that constantly moved between the mirrors deep within the hall.
"Over there!"
Harry shouted, raising his wand and firing a Stunning Spell, but the spell was reflected by a mirror, forcing Malfoy to duck sharply.
They grew more cautious, avoiding reckless attacks.
From experience, breaking the mirrors would likely release the ghost, making the situation even more troublesome.
After evading several waves of dangerous reflections, they finally seized an opening. Several Vanishing Charms shot toward the ghost the moment it appeared.
The ghost let out an unwilling shriek as its form gradually faded and vanished.
With its disappearance, all the abnormalities in the mirrors subsided at once.
This stage, though seemingly complex, became the simplest due to their restraint and composure.
Passing through the now silent mirror hall, they entered an even darker, more oppressive chamber.
This was clearly a main tomb, with dozens of stone coffins neatly arranged around the room. The air was thick with a musty odor, and niches in the walls held clay jars filled with unknown organs.
An accident occurred when Goyle turned around. The hem of his robe knocked over a clay jar decorated with scarabs.
The jar shattered, spilling its shriveled, blackened contents onto the ground.
In an instant, as if a hidden mechanism had been triggered, the lids of the surrounding coffins slid open and crashed down.
Mummies, wrapped in yellowed bandages and reeking of decay, creaked as they stiffly climbed out of their coffins.
Green ghostly flames burned in their hollow eye sockets, and like a tide sensing life, they surged toward the five students.
In truth, it wasn't Goyle's fault. Even if they had done nothing, stepping into the tomb with their left foot first would have triggered the mechanism.
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